Hoyer: Pelosi engaged in 'political ploy'

12/18/12 12:30 PM EST

House Democratic Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said his own leader, Nancy Pelosi, engaged in a "political ploy" earlier this year when she endorsed raising tax rates on those making more than $1 million.

Hoyer was asked about it because House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is now backing the same idea as a fallback "Plan B" to resolve the fiscal cliff: Allowing lower Bush-era tax rates expire for income above the million-dollar threshold. The proposals amounted to a ploy in both cases, Hoyer told reporters Tuesday.

“I don’t think it works, the math doesn’t work,” Hoyer said. “It’s a political ploy to give his members an opportunity to respond to the public that thinks all the Republicans is doing is protecting the wealthy.”

Hoyer said Democrats are being encouraged to vote against Boehner's plan.

“The leader and I agree we’re not for this and we hope it does not garner the votes to pass,” Hoyer said.

When it was pointed out that Pelosi, the House minority leader, suggested the same thing during the campaign but is now against it, Hoyer responded that everyone was using the top-level increase to play politics.

“Very frankly, I think Leader Pelosi, floated that again, as a political ploy,” Hoyer said. “I think if you ask her it was a political ploy. Not because she believed that was the level at which, but she wanted to show that Republicans wouldn’t even vote for a million. It was just observed that a lot of Republicans probably won’t vote for Boehner’s suggestion at a million.”